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Cozy Corgi Mysteries #17

Despicable Desserts

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Hollywood comes to Estes Park, bringing lights, cameras, and murder…

The Cozy Corgi bakery is under renovation, and while Winifred Page loves that her best friend, Katie, is getting her dream bakery, the noise and chaos—not to mention the lack of dirty chai—is making more than her corgi sidekick, Watson, grumpy.

To afford the renovations, Katie has agreed to make the scandals of her childhood into a documentary. While she expected the project to be emotionally draining, the obnoxious producer combined with constant clashes between the interior designer and construction crew brings the tension to a breaking point.

All too soon, squabbles over marble and light fixtures, along with a filmmaker’s problematic artistic vision, pale in comparison to murder… captured on film. With Valentine’s Day approaching, romantic sparks fly as quickly as accusations, as Fred and Watson search for clues… and snacks.

To find a killer, much more than pastry crumbs will be uncovered…

282 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 29, 2020

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About the author

Mildred Abbott

52 books346 followers
Reading the Cozy Corgi series is pretty much all you need to know about Mildred. In real life, she’s obsessed with everything she writes about: Corgis, Books, Cozy Mountain Towns, and Baked Goods. She’s not obsessed with murder, however. At least not at her own hands (nor paid for… no contract killing here). But since childhood, starting with Nancy Drew, trying to figure out who-dun-it has played a formative role in her personality. Having Fred and Watson stroll into her mind was a touch of kismet.


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5 stars
426 (74%)
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103 (17%)
3 stars
41 (7%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
Profile Image for Shawna Shaheen.
324 reviews12 followers
October 10, 2021
This is book 17. Katie Fred's ( Winifred ) best friend and upstairs is a bakery where Fred bookshop the Cozy Corgi was downstairs was getting renovated. And the designer Ebony and the Grizzlies a construction company were at each other's throats. Cecil the foreman was making all kinds of mistakes and Ebony was telling and screaming at him all the while. Herb the owner of Griizzlies promoted Cecil the job but he was not very good at his job. But he turned his life around and Herb did it to make him feel worthy. But Mac, Sven ,and Sam knew he was incompetent but they loved him. They said. Cecil got poisoned. And before that a man Arvin a producer and Lavender his assistant came to Fred' bookshop and wanted to talk to Katie ( Katie made a contract with the Producer for money to renovate her baker upstairs) well Arvin has other plans up his sleeve. Like bringing up Katie's parents passed ( one of the series in the book tells what). Katie thought it was for the victims. Nick and Ben twins that were part of the bakery( Nick and Ben ( part of the bookshop) were Fred and Marie's only employees but something fishy was going on with Theo ( the twins father.) He was once Grizzlies worker and always called in and said that the Members of Grizzlies construction were stealing from his house. Cabot the newest detective was on Cecil's case of who was angry 😠enough to poison him. Detective Susan was biased by Cabot's uncle and she thought that Cabot would be incapable to the job. But Fred assured her he was learning fast. I Love every single one of these series in the books. It is my best lists of books 📚 right now. Watson Fred's Corgi is funny and just like some of my dogs I know begging for food. These are sometimes funny plots sometimes serious. But I love what Mildred Abbot always comes up with in her books. BRILLIANT WORK
Profile Image for Heather.
1,528 reviews10 followers
August 21, 2021
Despicable Desserts

You definitely need to read this cozy mystery series. It’s so fun and heartwarming. I love the characters more with every book.
Profile Image for Victoria Smiser.
83 reviews2 followers
June 30, 2020

Just in time to make everyone’s summer a little sweeter!
The Cozy Corgi Bookshop and Bakery is seemingly under an endless restoration. Six weeks since the construction began, the upstairs bakery is still filled with equipment, constant hammering, drilling, and pounding. The vandalized and destroyed bakery is slowly coming to an even more extraordinary incarnation. With the transformation comes an exceptionally talented, as well as, a highly emotional interior designer and the seemingly lackadaisical construction crew. Weeks of constant arguing, near misses with equipment, and the extremely expensive finishes and findings to create the designer’s dream for the bakery has everyone’s patience at a low ebb. Compounded by the refusal of the insurance company to pay Katie’s claim, a Hollywood producer has offered a financially lucrative deal which would cover the renovation but left Katie heartbroken to acknowledge her personal connection to the violent past of her parents. Alvin Millhouse, a documentary producer is from the beginning an aching annoyance for both Katie and Fred, intent to carry on his project with an irritating bluntness rather than offer any compassion to Katie as she is forced to relive memories she has pushed away. Mr. Millhouse insisting that he has complete creative freedom leaves Katie caught between a financial nightmare and a personal traumatic time to re-experience.
A celebratory ‘almost finished renovation” party with Katie’s favorite assortment of pastries, bacon, fresh coffee for the Grizzly Construction crew is crashed by the foreman’s wife and her tray of cupcakes. Not overly comfortable in the midst of the construction crew, Patty continues to watch and monitor her husband’s seemingly endless appetite for Katie’s products. His obvious enjoyment of unlimited delicious pastries is paused as he begins to choke…
As a dedicated Cozy Corgi follower, I would say to pause whatever you are reading right this minute and begin DESPICABLE DESSERTS. As always Mildred Abbott weaves the mystery from person to person until the reader is thinking ‘they all did it.” Another great read from the Cozy Corgi Mystery series.
Profile Image for Grammy 1.
805 reviews17 followers
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July 8, 2020
5***** Stars
Book: Despicable Desserts
Series:Cozy Corgi Mysteries Book 17
Author: Mildred Abbott
Publisher: Self Published
Release date:June 29, 2020
Pages:282 pages
Genre:Mystery
Rated: All ages

Book 17???? Where has the time gone? I am so totally invested in this series I really look so forward for a Mildred Abbott release.

We have spent years now in Estes Park and have become familiar with so many of the townsfolk; especially the shopkeepers along Elkhorn Ave, and many of their families. With seventeen books we have lost many f the towns residents to death and unfortunately not by illness.

Winifred Page the daughter of a deceased police detective has come to town wounded, to pick up the pieces of her life.. She has come to be close to her family and has opened a bookstore naming it The Cozy Corgi after her intrepid pet corgi Watson. Inherent solid detective work and deduction has given her the right to be called a sleuth by some ; with her being called in to help with some murders, which she seems discovering more bodies than I care to count.

With all this happening, you can’t be surprised that she is in the second or third ‘renovation’ of her beloved shop due to vandalism or anger…..or both.. The previous book we were left with Fred’s best friend and partner Katie dealing with the remains of her bakery above the book store.

Since the Insurance company has now decided to reject payment. Katie has turned down Fred’s offer of help. Instead she has now sold her soul to a rich Hollywood Producer, Alvin Millhouse for the rights to make a documentary about her criminal family. Katie has hired a young talented local designer and with the help of the local Grizzly Construction crew hired, the drilling and hammering are finally coming to completion.

So we find us all set up for a little party to celebrate………and the hammer falls……one of the Grizzly crew chokes on a lemon bar and dies………Here we go again!!!

It is essential you drop everything and start this series….I kid you not….



992 reviews19 followers
July 3, 2020
In Despicable Desserts a lot of the focus of the story goes to fan-favorite Katie Pizzolato as she tries so determinedly to rebuild her beloved bakery, though petty squabbles, shoddy workmanship and even murder seem to dog her every step forward. There’s no escaping desserts in this book, as if we’d even want to, and mouthwateringly delicious baked goodies pop up in almost every other scene. Inevitably another murder occurs in Estes Park and Fred and Watson are called upon to put their sleuthing skills to good use. I really enjoyed the search for the killer and was taken by surprise by the outcome. I loved all the little details and misdirection that the author uses so capably to build up the mystery, and as always I’m in awe of how wonderfully well-rounded all the characters are, both the main and secondary ones. The author’s grasp of human foibles and emotions is amazing and results in incredibly nuanced, intriguing characters. No black & white cardboard villain(s) here.
503 reviews3 followers
January 3, 2021
More murder and mayhem

This is one of my favorite series. I stumbled on it when I signed up for Kindle Unlimited. I have to admit I wrote some less than nice reviews of the earlier books, but always liked the setting and premise of the stories. As i have progressed through the series I have grown to love the stories more and more. Love the humor and the humaness of the people and all the crazy critters. Having grown up in Colorado about an hour from Estes Park I have the privilege of being familiar with that wonderful little burg, and although I live over a thousand miles away now, I still try to get up there whenever I come back to visit. These stories are fun, the characters lovable (or not) and the twists at the ends never fail. Love the recipes at the back, they are just the icing on the cake. Pun intended. :). Can't wait to try out the cookie recipe included in this book. Num....
68 reviews
March 20, 2022
This gets back to what I like about this series. Though I think it has put Katie through more than enough!!! There is a reopening of Katie's bakery after it had been trashed in a previous book. The whole town turns out. Everyone is enjoying the occasion and lots of pastries...
when suddenly someone keels over. No one is all that surprised that this may be more complicated than it seems. Fred and Watson are on the case along with a much more agreeable police detective Susan and her bumbling assistant (who may be smarter than he seems.) In order to afford all this, Katie has agreed to cooperate in a documentary film about her notorious parents. She has also hired a temperamental designer who is at odds with the construction crew. There are lots more than just the usual suspects... and this book brings in more back story for Ben and Nick, the twins who staff the Cozy Corgi. There is twist at the end that will charm fans of Watson. Can he stay grumpy after this?
Profile Image for Polina Posner.
138 reviews4 followers
June 30, 2020
Katie's bakery is getting all fixed up. In order to pay for the renovations, Katie has agreed to make a documentary about her parents - the serial killers. To make that happen, a Hollywood producer and his assistant come to Estes Park. Amid the noise of the renovations, the constant bickering between the designer and construction crew, delicious desserts and (finally) a dirty chai, murder rears it's head again, and Fred and Watson and Katie must figure things out so as to make sure the cafe can finally open!
Secrets are revealed about the most unlikely people, twists and turns of the plot point to several different plausible suspects, a second almost murder throws everyone for a loop. Can Fred and Watson and the gang figure it all out?
Can't believe it's book 17! Absolutely fabulously fun read with each character being more and more developed!
780 reviews1 follower
July 8, 2020
My favorite character in all of the Cozy Corgi Mysteries is Watson, the grumpy, yet most lovable corgi you'd ever want to meet. There was one scene in this particular book where Watson was asleep in the Mystery Book room, but woke up suddenly and peeled out across the floor towards his "mama" Winifred (Fred) Page. The room was full of people because they were having a party for the upcoming bakery reopening. Fred thought Watson was coming for her, but instead, he was after the pastries that had fallen from a tray onto the floor. Everyone in the room hauled off laughing. This is not a spoiler alert and you really, really, really have to read this book. HOWEVER, if you have not read ANY of the Cozy Corgi series, I suggest you start with the first book, so that you don't miss any of this adorable corgi's exploits. Love from Barbara Kelley. P. S. I literally cannot wait for the next adventure that will be out in September or October 2020. Two books are scheduled to come out.
Profile Image for Deborah J.
103 reviews
July 3, 2020
This is book 17 in the Cozy Corgi series and Mildred Abbott has produced a big hit! I have come to expect nothing but outstanding writing in this series. The characters seem so real and the setting is beautiful. I always recommend reading a series in order as you see the development of the characters and their history. This book hit my Kindle this morning and I have already finished. The mystery was quite well developed and the killer was not on my radar until the very end. I didn’t have a clue! I am now going to wait, rather impatiently, for book 18. I always read too fast because it is so hard for me to put the book down. Do yourself a favor and purchase this book. You will not be disappointed.
Profile Image for Karel .
201 reviews3 followers
August 19, 2020
What a plot!

This book was just as amazing as all the other books in the series! Katie, Fred's best friend and owner of the bakery, has decided to let a man make a documentary about her parents. Surprising because her parents were notorious serial killers! However she has a contract that states the documentary must focus on the victims and show her parents as the monsters they were. She has only agreed to this because she needs to redo the bakery after some morons destroyed it. Well all is not as it seems and as usual, the story really becomes convoluted. Of course there is a murder and an attempted murder which Fred sets out to solve. Another good read thAt I recommend.
Profile Image for Renee Collins.
83 reviews29 followers
July 5, 2020
Mildred Abbott is a great story teller

Truly enjoyed this book. Mildred Abbot is a wonderful story teller. Everything and every person seem so real. Things took a different turn than I expected in this book. ...but I love being suprised. Now the Baker has a partner in life as well as her new and renovated bakery. Can't wait to see how both the Baker and book seller's relationships continue to develop. In all seasons, Estes seems to be the place to be. What will happen next? Will the ranger and the book seller ever take a trip together? I'd really love to visit this book store and bakery in real life. Do they really esist somewhere? I hope so....


Profile Image for Robin Powers.
1,427 reviews33 followers
July 2, 2020
The Cozy Corgi Mysteries never disappoint. Katie is finally getting her bakery remodel...but at what cost? All of our favorite people are back again for another unexpected death but we get a different lead police investigator this time around. Great twists, suspense, laughs and corgi antics. Fred was slightly more laid back this installment and seems more settled in her personal and family relationships. It’s wonderful to see how this series has matured and the town people and Fred are all set into a groove. The Estes Park groove. It’s one I like to visit over and over again.
Profile Image for Barbara Fryer.
54 reviews1 follower
July 3, 2020
Wonderful Story

I had forgotten that a new book in this series was being released. I had preordered it and was pleasantly surprised to find it in my list, ready to be read. I think this is my favorite book in the series. I am sitting here with my sweet rescue dog Xena pressed into my hip while I wish the next book was already here. Katie's character has grown strong as she has worked through her feelings regarding the killings done by her parents. I truly love the relationship building between she and Joe. Wonderful story.
Profile Image for Val.
1,385 reviews6 followers
September 1, 2020
A BIG emotional break from the last one. THANK YOU😊! Poor Katie selling her soul so to speak to a Hollywood (devil) producer to fund the bakery remodel.😞 This is truly one of those times that I wish I could have picked the murder victim cuz he would have been my pick. It ended okay but WOW there was some very intense moments when I wasn't sure how it was going to end. I hope the Cozy building never has to be remodeled again (lets face it we can't handle that again) and Katie finally gets her happy.
Profile Image for Shari Klase.
Author 6 books2 followers
April 20, 2022
Poisoned lemon bars?

Only in a fictional story centering on a bookshop/ bakery would anyone put forth a story about customers being poisoned by the bakery items. How would you ever sell another sweet treat? Yet, this is exactly what happens in this cozy corgi mystery. One wonders if there will be anyone left in this town till the end of the series. Most of the story centers around the bakery being remodeled and Katie's serial killer parents. But in the end Fred solves another mystery with Watson's help. That's all we came for anyway.
Profile Image for Bill  Mullin.
47 reviews
July 6, 2020
Mildred Abbott does it again! A bit more talkative than previous tales, but the suspense was carried through to the end. The Corgi series is a winner. Fred take the lead, as usual, but Watson plays his typical key roll in solving the mystery. The supporting characters all play important rolls, led by Katie, and the introduction of new characters adds to the mix nicely. Nice to see the growth of Det. Greene and her sidekick Officer Campbell.
207 reviews1 follower
August 13, 2020
Despicable Desserts

Another good visit with the citizens of Estes CO.
The characters continue to be stable. The plot believable.
This episode starts with the remodel of Cozy Corgi Bakery. Continuous friction between the construction crew and the designer, an affair and a murder set tongues wagging set Fred & Friends on the path of the killer.
Wonderful series with realistic characters, dogs and plot twists!
734 reviews2 followers
January 26, 2024
Another Winner

Katie's bakery remodel isn't going well with the construction crew and designer increasingly at odds. Then a member of the construction crew is murdered. This book has much to recommend it in terms of plotting and character interaction. And, of course, Watson; although, if Watson or any other dog of any size actually consumed the amount of pastry Watson eats in this book, he wouldn't survive the experience. Can't wait to read the next one.
Profile Image for Heather.
151 reviews9 followers
June 29, 2020
This story picks up not too long after the previous book. The bakery is under renovations and Katie has agreed to a documentary on her parents and their victims to pay for the work. Before the work can be done tragedy strikes and it's up to Fred and Watson to uncover a murderer and save the day.
Love this series so much and I can't wait for the next book!
461 reviews
June 30, 2020
Another fun read

This is the latest adventure of the Cozy Corgi gang, and it's fun to see how some of the favorite characters are growing and evolving. The writing is smooth, and the plot is complex enough to keep you guessing. This is an excellent series and I highly recommend it.
Profile Image for Debbie Facemire.
43 reviews
July 16, 2020
Is it a nightmare or a dream bakery?

Loved the twist and turn of the story. Little bits and pieces of the whole series intertwined in each chapter. A wonderful read from beginning to the end. Enjoyed Fred, Watson, Katie, and all their friends and family having never ending adventures.
93 reviews2 followers
July 19, 2020
Despicable desserts

This series keeps my mouthwatering! All Katie’s baking makes me hungry! Love this series. Fred and Katie did most of the work in this mystery. But grumpy Watson was the typical Corgi; such precious pets. There were so many suspects in this mystery that I missed the guilty party this time. Ready for the next book. Hurry! Jo
54 reviews
July 22, 2020
All books fantastic!

Your writing is so wonderful! I look forward to each and every episode with you and darling Watson😍 Your explanation of Watson and his antics and his love 💘 affairs with Leo, Barry and darling Ben are so funny, heart warming and totally LOL moments 😂 , I wait for the next installment! Loved the ending so endering!




Profile Image for Terri Nelson.
121 reviews4 followers
July 24, 2020
Despicable Desserts

Just so you know, I love Fred and the rest of the gang! The characters are well developed and the twist and turns I. The plot keep you guessing until the end. I also enjoy the budding romance interwoven into the plot. I can just picture the surprise at the end! That would be very cool.
Anything from this author is a must read!
46 reviews1 follower
Read
August 13, 2020
Perfect story

I have read and enjoyed each of the books in this series and look forward to more. This like the others is especially entertaining and I did not see the guilty person coming. Took me by surprise and I can usually figure it out. Thank you Mildred Abbott for many entertaining hours and sincerely hope for more.
Profile Image for Eirlys.
1,577 reviews12 followers
August 20, 2020
I loved this book with my favourite corgi, Watson, in it. I love his antics and this book did not disapoint. I loved the twists with Watson being the one who sniffs out the truth. Mind you he is much better at sniffing out the treats. I sympathised with Fred while the new kitchen was being installed.
126 reviews1 follower
February 18, 2022
Mystery with a totally delightful ending

Another great entry in the Cozy Corgi mystery series. Of course there is murder and mysteries to be solved but especially satisfying to also experience the continuation and completion of Katie’s bakery as the murder is solved and the mysteries explained. A really lovely story.
Profile Image for Linda Rainey.
2,346 reviews21 followers
July 1, 2020
Another Intriguing Corgi Mystery

Fred and Watson ,again units to bring us another intriguing Corgi mystery ,filled with plenty of suspense twists and turns.
This book is recommended for those who love cozy mysteries and Corgi's.
5 reviews2 followers
July 2, 2020
Another great adventure!

I love this book series! The characters have all become old friends whose exciting adventures I get to be a part of! Already looking forward to the next book.
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